Kevin Poindexter

Kevin Poindexter attended Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 2010. Poindexter began his law enforcement career with the Lynchburg Police Department in 1999 as a police recruit and is currently assigned to the Personnel and Training Unit as an Assistant Supervisor where he has received specialized training in the areas of Personnel Background Investigations and Human Resources Management Law. In May of 2006 Poindexter received the Lynchburg Police Department’s Honorable Service Award for exceptional contributions to the citizens of Lynchburg and in May of 2010 he received the Lynchburg Police Department’s Meritorious Service Award for exceptional contributions to the citizens of Lynchburg for his combined efforts in the areas of Criminal Street Gang Investigations and Community Gang Awareness and Prevention. Poindexter assisted with the development and implementation of the Lynchburg Police Department Gang Unit.

Poindexter has received over 400 hours of specialized training in criminal street gang investigations and was certified as a Gang Specialist through the Virginia Gang Investigators Association in January of 2007. In April of 2007, he was certified as a Gang Specialist through Gang Prevention, Inc in Chicago, Illinois. Since 2006, Poindexter has been the Central Shenandoah Regional Director for the Virginia Gang Investigators Association. He has been certified as an expert witness in the area of Criminal Street Gangs in the Circuit, General District, and Juvenile/Domestic Relation Courts within the City of Lynchburg.

Kevin Poindexter has investigated a multitude of criminal cases involving online social networks and the Internet during his career ranging from runaway juveniles to gang-related homicides including popular sites such as Facebook, MySpace, You Tube, and Mocospace. Poindexter was a pioneer in utilizing evidence from the social networking site MySpace to assist with proving gang membership in a 2007 Assault by Mob case.

Poindexter has taught to a growing list of professionals and organizations on the topics of criminal street gangs and their use of social media, including the Virginia Commonwealth Attorney’s Service Council, Mid-Atlantic Gang Investigators Network, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Marshals Service, Virginia Forensic Nurses Association, Norfolk Southern Railroad, and various local law enforcement agencies and civic organizations. Poindexter is a Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services certified General Instructor and is the lead instructor for Criminal Street Gang, Field Training Officer, and Background Investigator courses at the Central Virginia Criminal Justice Academy. Poindexter also co-instructs Intro to Criminal Street Gangs (CJUS-497), an undergraduate course at Liberty University. He has appeared in multiple printed articles, radio broadcasts, and television media accounts of gang activity and violence in the Central Virginia area.